Snow Removal Assembly

ABSTRACT

A snow removal assembly includes a truck that has a cab and a box that is positioned behind the cab. A chute is coupled to the cab of the truck to receive snow on a road upon which the truck is driving. An auger is rotatably disposed in the chute to urge the snow outwardly through the chute when the auger is turned on. A snow pipe is coupled to the chute for delivering the snow into the box and a pump is integrated into the snow pipe for urging the snow through the snow pipe. A heating unit is integrated into the box and the heating unit is in thermal communication with the box. Furthermore, the heating unit heats the box when the heating unit is turned on for melting the snow into water thereby facilitating the water to drain outwardly through the drain in the box for disposal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to snow removal device and more particularly pertains to a new snow removal device for collecting snow from a road and melting the snow into water. The device includes a truck that has a cab and a box and a chute that is attached to a nose of the cab. The device includes an auger that is rotatably disposed in the chute and a snow pipe extending from the chute to the box for delivering snow into the box. The device includes a heating unit that is integrated into the box for melting the snow into water thereby facilitating the water to be drained from the box into a municipal sewer system.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to snow removal devices including a truck with a snow auger, a box for receiving snow from the snow auger and a steam boiler for heating the box to melt the snow into water. The prior art discloses a snow collection vehicle that includes a snow auger and a conveyor belt for transporting snow into a box of the vehicle. The prior art discloses a snow collection vehicle that includes a snow chute, a pair of augers for transporting snow from the snow chute into a collection bay and a plurality of spray nozzles for spraying water into the snow to melt the snow. The prior art discloses a system and method of collecting snow in a vehicle and melting the snow into a liquid. The prior art discloses a snow collection vehicle that includes a snow chute, a series of turbines for producing vacuum pressure to urge the snow into a collection bay and a series of steam jets for melting the snow into water. The prior art discloses a snow collection vehicle that includes a snow plow that a collection chute integrated into the snow plow, a conduit extending between the snow plow and a box on the vehicle and a heating unit integrated into the box for melting the snow.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a truck that has a cab and a box that is positioned behind the cab. A chute is coupled to the cab of the truck to receive snow on a road upon which the truck is driving. An auger is rotatably disposed in the chute to urge the snow outwardly through the chute when the auger is turned on. A snow pipe is coupled to the chute for delivering the snow into the box and a pump is integrated into the snow pipe for urging the snow through the snow pipe. A heating unit is integrated into the box and the heating unit is in thermal communication with the box. Furthermore, the heating unit heats the box when the heating unit is turned on for melting the snow into water thereby facilitating the water to drain outwardly through the drain in the box for disposal.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a snow removal assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 4 thereof, a new snow removal device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4 , the snow removal assembly 10 generally comprises a truck 12 that has a cab 14 and a box 16 that is positioned behind the cab 14, and the box 16 has a drain 17 that is fluid integrated into the box 16 for draining a fluid from the box 16. The box 16 has a bottom wall 18 and an outer wall 20 extending upwardly from the bottom wall 18, and the outer wall 20 has a front side 22 and a back side 24. The front side 22 is positioned adjacent to the cab 14 and the drain 17 extends through the back side 24 of the outer wall 20 at a point located adjacent to the bottom wall 18. The cab 14 has a nose 26 and the truck 12 may comprise a heavy duty truck, such as a dump truck or other similar type of truck that has a payload capacity of at least 4500.0 kg.

A drain pipe 28 is provided that has a first end 30 and a second end 32, and the drain pipe 28 has a bend 34 integrated into the drain pipe 28 defining a first portion 36 of the drain pipe 28 which forms an angle with a second portion 40 of the drain pipe 28. The first end 30 is associated with the first portion 36 and the second end 32 is associated with the second portion 40. Furthermore, the first portion 36 extends through the drain 17 in the box 16 such that the first end 30 of the drain pipe 28 is positioned inside of the box 16 and the second portion 40 is oriented to extend downwardly along the back side 24 of the outer wall 20 of the box 16.

A chute 38 is coupled to the cab 14 of the truck 12 and the chute 38 has a snow opening 39 that is integrated into the chute 38 to receive snow 42 on a road 44 upon which the truck 12 is driving. The chute 38 has a forward end 46, a rearward end 48 and an outside wall 50 extending between the forward end 46 and the rearward end 48, and the outside wall 50 has a top side 52, a first lateral side 54 and a second lateral side 56. The rearward end 48 is attached to the nose 26 of the cab 14 and the chute 38 is aligned with a bottom surface 57 of the nose 26, and the forward end 46 is open for receiving the snow 42. Additionally, the top side 52 has an exhaust opening 58 extending into an interior of the chute 38.

An auger 60 is rotatably disposed in the chute 38 such that the auger 60 is exposed to the snow 42 passing into the chute 38. The auger 60 is in mechanical communication with a power source 62 comprising a power take off of the truck 12 thereby facilitating the auger 60 to be rotated such that the auger 60 urges the snow 42 outwardly through the chute 38 when the auger 60 is turned on. The auger 60 has a primary end 64 and a secondary end 66, and each of the primary end 64 and the secondary end 66 is rotatably coupled to an inside surface 68 of a receptive one of the first lateral side 54 and the second lateral side 56 of the outside wall 50 of the chute 38 such that the auger 60 is spaced rearwardly from the forward end 46 of the chute 38. Furthermore, the auger 60 has a blade 70 spiraling between the primary end 64 and the secondary end 66. The auger 60 may include a drive box 72 which may include a series of gears or other type of mechanical drive commonly associated with a power take off.

A snow pipe 74 is coupled to the chute 38 such that the snow pipe 74 receives the snow 42 from the auger 60 and the snow pipe 74 extends over the cab 14 and into the box 16 for delivering the snow 42 into the box 16. The snow pipe 74 has a coupled end 76 and a free end 78, and the coupled end 76 is attached to the top side 52 of the outside wall 50 of the chute 38. The coupled end 76 is aligned with the exhaust opening 58 in the top side 52 thereby facilitating the snow pipe 74 to receive the snow 42 and the free end 78 of the snow pipe 74 is directed toward an interior of the box 16.

A pump 80 is integrated into the snow pipe 74 and the pump 80 has an intake 82 and an exhaust 84. The intake 82 is directed toward the exhaust opening 58 in the top side 52 of the outside wall 50 of the chute 38 and the exhaust 84 is directed into the snow pipe 74. The pump 80 urges the snow 42 into the intake 82 and outwardly through the exhaust 84 thereby facilitating the snow 42 to be blown through the snow pipe 74 and into the box 16. Additionally, the pump 80 is in communication with the power source 62 associated with the auger 60. The pump 80 may comprise a mechanical fluid pump or other type of pump that is capable of urging snow 42 through the snow pipe 74.

A support 86 is coupled to the cab 14 and the support 86 is vertically oriented such that the support 86 engages and supports the snow pipe 74. The support 86 has a top end 88 and the support 86 has a yoke 90 extending upwardly from the top end 88. The snow pipe 74 extends through the yoke 90 and the yoke 90 comprises a curved member 92 such that the yoke 90 has a U-shape to conform to the shape of the snow pipe 74. The yoke 90 is spaced upwardly beyond the outer wall 20 of the box 16 to facilitate the snow pipe 74 to curve downwardly into the box 16.

A heating unit 94 is integrated into the box 16 and the heating unit 94 is in thermal communication with the box 16. The heating unit 94 heats the box 16 when the heating unit 94 is turned on for melting the snow 42 into water thereby facilitating the water to drain 17 outwardly through the drain 17 in the box 16 for disposal. The heating unit 94 comprises a heating coil 96 that is integrated into the bottom wall 18 and the outer wall 20 of the box 16 such that the heating coil 96 heats an entirety of the bottom wall 18 and the outer wall 20. In this way the heating coil 96 is oriented to enhance melting the snow 42 into water in timely and efficient manner by heating the entire surface area of the box 16 rather than a portion of the surface area of the box 16. The heating coil 96 may comprise an electric heating coil or the like and the heating coil 96 may have an operational temperature of at least 150.0 degrees Fahrenheit.

A control 98 is positioned within the cab 14 of the truck 12 such that the control 98 is accessible to a driver of the truck 12. The control 98 is in operational communication with the auger 60 and the pump 80 and the heating unit 94, and the control 98 includes an auger switch 100 and a heating switch 102. Each of the auger 60 and the pump 80 is turned on when the auger switch 100 is positioned in an on position and each of the auger 60 and the pump 80 is turned off when the auger switch 100 is positioned in an off position. The heating coil 96 is turned on when the heating switch 102 is positioned in an on position and the heating coil 96 is turned off when the heating switch 102 is positioned in an off position.

In use, the auger 60 and the pump 80 is turned on the collect snow 42 from the road 44 and the snow 42 is directed into the box 16 for storage. The truck 12 is driven to a storm sewer inlet 104, or other access point to a municipal sewer system and the truck 12 is oriented to direct the drain 17 toward the storm sewer inlet 104. The heating coil 96 is turned on to melt the snow 42 into water 106 such that the water 106 drains outwardly from the drain 17 and into the storm sewer inlet 104. In this way the snow 42 in the box 16 does not have to be emptied at a collection point as is the common practice with municipal snow 42 removal activities. Furthermore, the truck 12 can continue snow 42 collection activities once the box 16 has been drained of the water 106. In this way the truck 12 can make a short trip to the nearest storm sewer inlet 104 rather than making the lengthy trip to the collection point thereby enhancing the speed and efficiency with which the road 44 can be cleared of snow 42.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements. 

I claim:
 1. A snow removal assembly for collecting snow from a roadway and subsequently melting the snow for disposal in a municipal sewer system, said assembly comprising: a truck having a cab and a box being positioned behind said cab, said box having a drain being fluid integrated into said box for draining a fluid from said box; a chute being coupled to said cab of said truck, said chute having a snow opening being integrated into said chute to receive snow on a road upon which said truck is driving; an auger being rotatably disposed in said chute such that said auger is exposed to the snow passing into said chute, said auger being in mechanical communication with a power source comprising a power take off of said truck thereby facilitating said auger to be rotated such that said auger urges the snow outwardly through said chute when said auger is turned on; a snow pipe being coupled to said chute such that said snow pipe receives the snow from said auger, said snow pipe extending over said cab and into said box for delivering the snow into said box; a pump being integrated into said snow pipe for urging the snow through said snow pipe; and a heating unit being integrated into said box, said heating unit being in thermal communication with said box, said heating unit heating said box when said heating unit is turned on for melting the snow into water thereby facilitating the water to drain outwardly through said drain in said box for disposal.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein: said box has a bottom wall and an outer wall extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said outer wall having a front side and a back side, said front side being positioned adjacent to said cab, said drain extending through said back side of said outer wall at a point located adjacent to said bottom wall; said assembly includes a drain pipe having a first end and a second end, said drain pipe having a bend integrated into said drain pipe defining a first portion of said drain pipe forming an angle with a second portion of said drain pipe, said first end being associated with said first portion, said second end being associated with said second portion, said first portion extending through said drain in said box such that said first end of said drain pipe is positioned inside of said box, said second portion being oriented to extend downwardly along said back side of said outer wall of said box; and said auger has a primary end and a secondary end, each of said primary end and said secondary end being rotatably coupled to an inside surface of a receptive one of said first lateral side and said second lateral side of said outside wall of said chute such that said auger is spaced rearwardly from said forward end of said chute, said auger having a blade spiraling between said primary end and said secondary end.
 3. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein: said cab has a nose; and said chute has a forward end, a rearward end and an outside wall extending between said forward end and said rearward end, said outside wall having a top side, a first lateral side and a second lateral side, said rearward end being attached to said nose of said cab having said chute being aligned with a bottom surface of said nose, said forward end being open for receiving the snow, said top side having an exhaust opening extending into an interior of said chute.
 4. The assembly according to claim 3, wherein: said snow pipe has a coupled end and a free end, said coupled end being attached to said top side of said outside wall of said chute having said coupled end being aligned with said exhaust opening in said top side thereby facilitating said snow pipe to receive the snow, said free end of said snow pipe being directed toward an interior of said box; and said pump has an intake and an exhaust, said intake being directed toward said exhaust opening in said top side of said outside wall of said chute, said exhaust being directed into said snow pipe, said pump urging the snow into said intake and outwardly through said exhaust thereby facilitating the snow to be blown through said snow pipe and into said box.
 5. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a support being coupled to said cab, said support being vertically oriented such that said support engages and support said snow pipe, said support having a top end, said support having a yoke extending upwardly from said top end, said snow pipe extending through said yoke.
 6. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said heating unit comprises a heating coil being integrated into said bottom wall and said outer wall of said box such that said heating coil heats an entirety of said bottom wall and said outer wall to enhance melting the snow, said heating coil being electrically coupled to a power source comprising an electrical system of said truck.
 7. The assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a control being positioned within said cab of said truck such that said control is accessible to a driver of said truck, said control being in operational communication with said auger and said pump and said heating unit, said control including an auger switch and a heating switch, each of said auger and said pump being turned on when said auger switch is positioned in an on position, each of said auger and said pump being turned off when said auger switch is positioned in an off position, said heating coil being turned on when said heating switch is positioned in an on position, said heating coil being turned off when said heating switch is positioned in an off position.
 8. A snow removal assembly for collecting snow from a roadway and subsequently melting the snow for disposal in a municipal sewer system, said assembly comprising: a truck having a cab and a box being positioned behind said cab, said box having a drain being fluid integrated into said box for draining a fluid from said box, said box having a bottom wall and an outer wall extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said outer wall having a front side and a back side, said front side being positioned adjacent to said cab, said drain extending through said back side of said outer wall at a point located adjacent to said bottom wall, said cab having a nose; a drain pipe having a first end and a second end, said drain pipe having a bend integrated into said drain pipe defining a first portion of said drain pipe forming an angle with a second portion of said drain pipe, said first end being associated with said first portion, said second end being associated with said second portion, said first portion extending through said drain in said box such that said first end of said drain pipe is positioned inside of said box, said second portion being oriented to extend downwardly along said back side of said outer wall of said box; a chute being coupled to said cab of said truck, said chute having a snow opening being integrated into said chute to receive snow on a road upon which said truck is driving, said chute having a forward end, a rearward end and an outside wall extending between said forward end and said rearward end, said outside wall having a top side, a first lateral side and a second lateral side, said rearward end being attached to said nose of said cab having said chute being aligned with a bottom surface of said nose, said forward end being open for receiving the snow, said top side having an exhaust opening extending into an interior of said chute; an auger being rotatably disposed in said chute such that said auger is exposed to the snow passing into said chute, said auger being in mechanical communication with a power source comprising a power take off of said truck thereby facilitating said auger to be rotated such that said auger urges the snow outwardly through said chute when said auger is turned on, said auger having a primary end and a secondary end, each of said primary end and said secondary end being rotatably coupled to an inside surface of a receptive one of said first lateral side and said second lateral side of said outside wall of said chute such that said auger is spaced rearwardly from said forward end of said chute, said auger having a blade spiraling between said primary end and said secondary end; a snow pipe being coupled to said chute such that said snow pipe receives the snow from said auger, said snow pipe extending over said cab and into said box for delivering the snow into said box, said snow pipe having a coupled end and a free end, said coupled end being attached to said top side of said outside wall of said chute having said coupled end being aligned with said exhaust opening in said top side thereby facilitating said snow pipe to receive the snow, said free end of said snow pipe being directed toward an interior of said box; a pump being integrated into said snow pipe, said pump having an intake and an exhaust, said intake being directed toward said exhaust opening in said top side of said outside wall of said chute, said exhaust being directed into said snow pipe, said pump urging the snow into said intake and outwardly through said exhaust thereby facilitating the snow to be blown through said snow pipe and into said box, said pump being in communication with said power source associated with said auger; a support being coupled to said cab, said support being vertically oriented such that said support engages and support said snow pipe, said support having a top end, said support having a yoke extending upwardly from said top end, said snow pipe extending through said yoke; a heating unit being integrated into said box, said heating unit being in thermal communication with said box, said heating unit heating said box when said heating unit is turned on for melting the snow into water thereby facilitating the water to drain outwardly through said drain in said box for disposal, said heating unit comprises a heating coil being integrated into said bottom wall and said outer wall of said box such that said heating coil heats an entirety of said bottom wall and said outer wall to enhance melting the snow; and a control being positioned within said cab of said truck such that said control is accessible to a driver of said truck, said control being in operational communication with said auger and said pump and said heating unit, said control including an auger switch and a heating switch, each of said auger and said pump being turned on when said auger switch is positioned in an on position, each of said auger and said pump being turned off when said auger switch is positioned in an off position, said heating coil being turned on when said heating switch is positioned in an on position, said heating coil being turned off when said heating switch is positioned in an off position. 